Everyone can learn something from road-bike course

October 17, 2004|By Tim Blangger Of The Morning Call

Blame it on Lance Armstrong.

But even if the celebrated Texas bicyclist isn't directly responsible for increased sales of road bicycles, the thin-tired, tiny-seated speedsters on which he rode to a record six Tour De France victories, they are among the few types of bicycles with steadily increasing sales.

For some road-bike riders, however, the switch to the thinner tires and lighter frames of road bicycles can cause problems after years of riding fat-tired hybrids, which tend to be much more forgiving of the rider than the demanding road bicycles can be.

The differences are important to remember, but especially important to consider now, during the cooler fall months, when more recreational cyclists ride their bikes than at any other time of the year.

Part of this unforgiving state can be traced to physics. As a road cyclist rides around a corner, the contact his or her bike tires make to the road is no more than the side of a thin dime. Factor in variables like wet roadways, gravel and the ever-present roadway imperfections and that road bike's tenuous grip on the road becomes even more so.

Speed also is a factor. Road bikes simply are faster than fat-tired bicycles. They roll easier, and offer less wind resistance, partly because the rider is often seated in a more aerodynamic position. Where the average speed on a hybrid bike can be around 10 miles an hour, it's not uncommon for road bikes to travel between 16 and 18 miles an hour on flat terrain. On downhills, speeds can reach up to 50 miles an hour.

Jeff Bradford, 50, a Bethlehem computer consultant, knows of the potential problems involved in making the switch to a road bike.

After riding hybrid bicycles for years, mostly for fitness, Bradford had a chance to ride a road bicycle donated to the Bethlehem-based Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, or CAT. The bike was built for a tall rider, and at 6-foot-4, Bradford was just tall enough to ride the bike.

He rode if for about eight miles on a Saturday, with no problems.

But, on a longer ride the following day, on more heavily traveled roads, Bradford applied his brakes too quickly, trying to avoid a parked vehicle, and flew over the handlebars. He chipped a tooth and needed stitches in his chin.

"I was a lot more familiar with the brakes on my hybrid bike," Bradford says. "And, I'm certainly a lot more aware now that this kind of thing could happen."

Bradford decided not to buy the bike, but says, "I really enjoyed riding it. I actually enjoyed the riding position and the underslung handlebars. I preferred it to being in an upright position" as riders would be on a hybrid or fat-tire bicycle.

Bradford's accident has had another consequence: CAT's certified instructors have made changes to the organization's road course which specifically address the issue of road bike safety, says CAT director Steve Schmitt.

There are no hard statics on the numbers of road bicycle accidents, but anecdotal evidence suggests even experienced cyclists have problems adjusting to the faster, lighter road bikes. The average age of bicycle fatalities has risen steadily, according to figures kept by the National Highway Traffic Administration, from 27 in 1990 to 37 in 2001. However, this increase in average age also could mean the number of younger riders is declining.

A safety course, highlighting the differences between road bicycles and other types, can help prevent accidents, says Schmitt.

Although several members of the CAT staff are certified to teach the course, the nonprofit's main instructor is Paul Juniper, who administers a written exam, shows a safe cycling video and then accompanies test-takers on a two-part road test.

The video, "Effective Cycling" was created by John Forester, a cycling transportation engineer who literally wrote the book ("Effective Cycling," currently in its sixth edition) on bicycle safety. In the video, the narrator, repeating a theme of Forester's book, says cyclists should act like any other vehicle on the road, moving in predictable, steady ways.

The first part of the riding test involves basic riding skills, usually done on a level parking lot near the Bethlehem CAT office, in the basement of a large parking garage near Main Street and Union Boulevard.

Juniper sets small tennis balls, cut in half, at various spots. The cyclist has to come to an abrupt stop, avoid a road hazard (one of the halved tennis balls) and make a sharp right-hand turn, a "quick turn" technique also used to avoid road hazards like rocks and pavement cracks.

I took the course on a recent Saturday, when the course is usually offered. I entered the course with some reluctance. After all, I've been riding for years. What, I thought, could the course teach me? That was my first mistake.

Before we left the CAT office, where the first part of the testing takes place, Juniper did a quick check of my road bike, testing to make sure the tires had enough air, the brakes worked and the essential pedal system, or crank, was in working order.